And Resource Guide a CALIFORNIA APPAREL NEWS SPECIAL SECTION JULY 2019
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Textile Preview and Resource Guide A CALIFORNIA APPAREL NEWS SPECIAL SECTION JULY 2019 TEXTILE NOTES Orta’s Sustainability TEXTILE TRENDS Formula Blends Biology, Floral Blooms Design and Technology Blues News Calik Denim Increases Accessibility Through New Standard Bearers Mobile Application Hyosung Introduces Creora The New Neutrals ActiFit Spandex With a Focus on Fashion and Walk on the Wild Side Function FCN Textiles 05.TextileCover.indd 5 7/3/19 5:05 PM TEXTILES Orta’s Sustainability Formula Blends Textile research and Product Development Biology, Design and Technology By Dorothy Crouch Associate Editor officer for Geneva-headquartered BCI. Silva explained how working with cotton farmers Istanbul textile manufacturer Orta An- to promote responsible cotton cultivation adolu is on a mission toward greater sustain- creates a more sustainable start for the den- able denim manufacturing, inviting industry im supply chain. Our fabrics are sold worldwide leaders to hear about how the company is “All [BCI] members should have a com- Our fabrics worldwide contributing to a more ecologically sound mon goal, which is to help improve farming denim supply chain. practices, lower farming costs, and increase On hand at the June 27 meeting at the productivity and better profitability for BELGIUM GERMANY SPAIN TUNISIA Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles were farmers,” he said. “Orta has been a long- representatives from Los Angeles denim standing member of BCI that has used our makers Current/Elliott and Citizens of system.” CHINA JAPAN HOLLAND TURKEY Humanity as well as a number of consul- Event attendees, who have worked in tants, city-government officials and industry leaders. SOUTH KOREA GREECE PORTUGAL UNITED STATES The intimate gathering was organized on the heels of a June 21 stop in New York at The Museum of Modern Art, where the FRANCE ITALY company awarded its Biodesign Challenge prize to a team of ambitious Royal Mel- bourne Institute of Technology Universi- ty students who created a washing-machine filter that captures micro-plastics, eventually allowing enzymes to consume the collected waste. Experts in Textile Research and Product Development “The next generation includes using bi- ology, design and technology under the Orta denim umbrella of sustainability to create the new denim eco-system,” explained Orta’s global many different areas of denim production, director of sales and marketing, Sedef Uncu welcomed the opportunity to learn more Aki. “For so long we’ve discussed the scar- about improving their businesses. city of natural resources. We are now in an “We’re working more with sustainable era to discuss abundance and scalable so- products, so I am here to become more lutions. We can change the narrative from knowledgeable,” said Annabelle Lee, asso- scarcity to abundance.” ciate designer of denim for Vernon, Calif.’s During its first sustainability seminar cov- Current/Elliott. “There are many different [email protected] • [email protected] ering “Sustainable Actions From Design to elements involved, such as encouraging End Use,” the mill sought to educate its Los consumers. It’s not just vendors and farm- Angeles brand partners regarding greener ers—it’s a full circle of awareness that needs to happen.” Utilizing more-sustainable raw Textile research and Product Development materials at the beginning of the supply chain and less harmful pro- cesses during production is a ma- jor concern for many denim textile manufacturers and jeans brands that want to be responsible. Discussing how denim mills are promoting more sustainable manufacturing practices by clean- ing up traditionally dirty industry practices, Amanda Cattermole—a Sedef Uncu Aki, left, and Sebla Onder field questions sustainability and chemical man- from guests. agement consultant who worked for many years with Levi Strauss & Our fabrics worldwide denim throughout the product lifecycle. Step- Co., made the connection between cleaner ping outside the larger format of trade shows practices and conserving resources. and forums, the company wanted to connect “From a mill-processing perspective, with brands on a more personal level. we’re seeing them create ways to reduce “We will shape other series according water use, and they’re also looking at things to how this first seminar goes,” said Orta’s like foam dying and pre-reduced indigo,” BELGIO GERMANIA SPAGNA TUNISIAsustainability specialist, Sebla Onder. “We she said. “If you’re using less water, you’re believe in the power of collaboration, and, using less energy. We’re seeing a big push for sustainability to work, everyone in the toward energy reduction and much safer re- entire value chain must work together.” duction agents being used.” As part of its push to promote an eco- Noting the upcycling programs of brands CINA GIAPPONE OLANDA TURCHIAfriendlier industry, Orta is not only talking such as Guess, Levi’s, Nike, H&M, Pata- about using technology to facilitate connec- gonia and Eileen Fisher, Cattermole also tions along the supply chain, but the compa- explained how brands are able to bypass ny is also implementing changes to remain the need for creating new goods by promot- transparent. Using a Lifecycle Assessment ing a circular economy that relies on giving QR code printed on its labels, Orta leads its new life to products in their post-consumer COREA del SUD GRECIA PORTOGALLO STATIbrand partnersUNITI through its denim sourcing, states. affording greater insight into how its textiles Attendees noted that greater attention are produced. needs to focus on using scrap material and “For the last two collections, we’ve put a dead stock and recycling old products once QR code on every article,” said Uncu Aki. consumers no longer need them. FRANCIA ITALIA “It’s nice, because you can quantify, and “We look for fabrics we bought a long when you quantify you can develop objec- time ago that were in our inventory to patch tives and have goals to reduce impact.” into the jean instead of going out and pur- With the help of the Better Cotton chasing new material,” said Dana Kelly, a Initiative, Orta was able to show how the fabric manager at Huntington Park, Calif.– company has been contributing toward the based Citizens of Humanity. “If we can use sustainable shift, before sustainability was post-consumer goods, break them down and stylish. A member of BCI since 2011, Orta repurpose into fabrics, we could give them introduced Carlos Silva, the USA program new life—a denim rebirth.” ● 6 CALIFORNIA APPAREL NEWS JULY 5–11, 2019 APPARELNEWS.NET 06 orta.indd 6 7/3/19 5:11 PM cmc.indd 1 7/2/19 6:41 PM DK fp 070519.indd 8 7/2/19 10:55 AM ADVERTISEMENT Design Knit Launches Studio DK in Its Latest Initiative to ‘Give Back’ How best to give back to the industry that has been your lifeblood? and recycled yarns plus a collection fabricated from discontinued yarns. In an effort This is the question that has preoccupied mother and daughter Shala and Pat to reduce waste, fabric overages will also be available for purchase “with the hopes Tabassi and their dedicated staff at Design Knit Inc., the family-owned knitting mill of giving the products a second life,” Pat says. CEO Shala built from the ground up beginning in 1986. Widely acknowledged as While located at the same mill facility as Design Knit, Studio DK has a separate a premier purveyor of high-quality knit fabrics for the contemporary, athleisure, entrance, parking lot, and newly constructed showroom—a tranquil place awash in Hsportswear, and loungewear markets, Design Knit, almost from the start, has been neutrals. There will be garment-dyed samples to inspire and a yarn-dye color card. focused on giving back to the fashion community as much as it has endeavored to And while the assortment is a “honed-down collection from our line,” Pat explains, build its business. “we are still able to tweak some of these fabrications as well.” In particular, the Tabassis, who run one of the rare local mills in the city, have The advantages of Studio DK can work in many scenarios. “They are working concentrated on students and young designers, whom they regard as the with shorter lead times, and I will get a lot of inquiries for quick response,” says industry’s future. “We have long supported the Sarvey Tahmasebi Rector, director of sales next generations of designers,” says Pat, who and marketing. “This is a great way for serves as head of product development and them to produce goods in a fast way. If community outreach. “That’s really important to they can get samples done quickly and us beyond the business end.” show them closer to lead time, it’s definitely Design Knit more than a decade ago good for a quick-response program.” began offering to students scholarships and For all intents and purposes, Studio DK mentorship internships as well as regular factory is a separate entity from Design Knit, which and showroom tours. Pat, a frequent lecturer at continues its business unchanged. “We are the various fashion schools in Los Angeles, got evolving and adding to our business,” she the idea from an experience she had when she points out. “Design Knit is very strong; we happened to sit in on a textile class. “Textile- just want to cater to a different area of the oriented classes can be incredibly technical,” market.” she says. “I realized we needed to get them What Studio DK and Design Knit will over to our facilities to see how it all worked, share is their near-obsessive attention show them firsthand knit-fabric production.” to customer service and building strong Students who have a better understanding of relationships that withstand the ebb how a fabric is made, the Tabassis believed, will and flow of industry demands.